SGI 6-16/6-19 Fishing Report & Trailer Problem
Posted: June 22nd, 2004, 11:17 am
Got to St. George Island for the first time ever in June. Did not know what to expect. Had a problem on the way down, but more on that later.
First day fishing was Wednesday. Caught a pair of Lady fish on shrimp. One got a Presidential Pardon, the other was cut bait. Put the head on a large circle hook and in a few minutes the big rod bent almost double. At first I thought the Red might be just under 27 inches, but nope, 29 and a fraction. Released him (or her) and after one swish of the tail, the fish floated belly up. I was preparing to pull anchor when I saw the Red quit playing possum and off the Red went back into the depths of Sikes Cut. Caught several more Lady fish and two 14 inch Blues. All I needed for a Patriotic Slam was a nice Whiting.
Not to be.
Day two, got numerous Ladies and three very nice whiting. When I cleaned the Whiting, I kept the heads for use as bait. Got that Patriotic Slam, but it took me two days to do it.
Day three. Had a 12 year old with me. Finally got him to casting right and he would hook a Lady fish and it would get off at the boat. Finally convinced him that was OK, he had gotten most of the fun out of the fish. Then I looked down and he had a nice Spanish, I got it into the boat, cut its' throat and put it in a 5 gallon bucket half full of water to bleed out. By the time I finished, he had another one. By the time I finally got a spoon in the water he had 4 nice Spanish. I finally got one and it was the runt of the lot.
Saturday, got back to the Cut and caught several Ladies and two large Gafftops (on spoons). Then I hooked something that striped some line. It was a 24+ inch Spanish. Into the cooler after bleeding. Then another nice Blue. One of the Whiting heads was on a Shimano Thunnus and the Bait feeder function started. Nice 30 inch Blacktip. I had the leader in my hand at the side of the boat and was debating how to get him off the hook when he flipped and was loose and did not even keep my Circle hook. Great week, but I still much prefer April and October
Now the problem. I recently purchased a new Magic Tilt Aluminum Trailer. Apparently the factory had set the Torsion Axles wrong and the wheels were very slightly rubbing the fenders when I went home, with the boat empty(no gear gas or even a cooler). On the way back to St. George Island on 6-13-04, the trailer was loaded. Now the vehicle I drive is very sound deadened, I had the windows up, air on and two kids in the vehicle. I never heard a thing. At the first stop, the wheels had burned a hole in both fenders. I removed the fenders at a rest stop on I-75. Although I was missing some tread in the center of the wheels, with the fenders no longer rubbing, I went on to St. George Island without a problem. On Monday morning I took to boat to my dealer (Wefings Marine). There I talked to the Service Manager (Mike). When I came in I was ready to chew Bubble Gum and Kick some a$$, and I was all out of gum! Well it only took Mike a little bit to calm me down.
The owner of Wefings (Marc Grove) got on the phone to Magic Tilt. A trouble Shooter from Magic Tilt would be there on Tuesday Morning. By Tuesday afternoon, my trailer had been fully repaired and even though new wheels and fenders would not be available for a week and half, Marc had the Troubleshooter take the wheels and fenders from another trailer and my trailer was as good as new. I didn't even loose any fishing time since is was raining pretty good on Monday and the wind was blowing pretty good on Tuesday.
Now I have heard Magic Tilt called Tragic Tilt etc. IMHO Magic Tilt builds a pretty good trailer. If you have a problem and you cannot get it fixed, the problem is not with Magic Tilt, it is with your dealer. If your dealer gets on Magic Tilt, Magic Tilt will respond. If you are having problems with your dealer, may I suggest Wefings Marine in Eastpoint, FL. (Just East of Apalachicola.) Oh, I am very happy with my Magic Tilt. I have not know Mike long, but I have dealt with Marc for a while. How many can say that their Dealer is also a friend?
First day fishing was Wednesday. Caught a pair of Lady fish on shrimp. One got a Presidential Pardon, the other was cut bait. Put the head on a large circle hook and in a few minutes the big rod bent almost double. At first I thought the Red might be just under 27 inches, but nope, 29 and a fraction. Released him (or her) and after one swish of the tail, the fish floated belly up. I was preparing to pull anchor when I saw the Red quit playing possum and off the Red went back into the depths of Sikes Cut. Caught several more Lady fish and two 14 inch Blues. All I needed for a Patriotic Slam was a nice Whiting.
Not to be.Day two, got numerous Ladies and three very nice whiting. When I cleaned the Whiting, I kept the heads for use as bait. Got that Patriotic Slam, but it took me two days to do it.
Day three. Had a 12 year old with me. Finally got him to casting right and he would hook a Lady fish and it would get off at the boat. Finally convinced him that was OK, he had gotten most of the fun out of the fish. Then I looked down and he had a nice Spanish, I got it into the boat, cut its' throat and put it in a 5 gallon bucket half full of water to bleed out. By the time I finished, he had another one. By the time I finally got a spoon in the water he had 4 nice Spanish. I finally got one and it was the runt of the lot.
Saturday, got back to the Cut and caught several Ladies and two large Gafftops (on spoons). Then I hooked something that striped some line. It was a 24+ inch Spanish. Into the cooler after bleeding. Then another nice Blue. One of the Whiting heads was on a Shimano Thunnus and the Bait feeder function started. Nice 30 inch Blacktip. I had the leader in my hand at the side of the boat and was debating how to get him off the hook when he flipped and was loose and did not even keep my Circle hook.
Great week, but I still much prefer April and October Now the problem. I recently purchased a new Magic Tilt Aluminum Trailer. Apparently the factory had set the Torsion Axles wrong and the wheels were very slightly rubbing the fenders when I went home, with the boat empty(no gear gas or even a cooler). On the way back to St. George Island on 6-13-04, the trailer was loaded. Now the vehicle I drive is very sound deadened, I had the windows up, air on and two kids in the vehicle. I never heard a thing. At the first stop, the wheels had burned a hole in both fenders. I removed the fenders at a rest stop on I-75. Although I was missing some tread in the center of the wheels, with the fenders no longer rubbing, I went on to St. George Island without a problem. On Monday morning I took to boat to my dealer (Wefings Marine). There I talked to the Service Manager (Mike). When I came in I was ready to chew Bubble Gum and Kick some a$$, and I was all out of gum! Well it only took Mike a little bit to calm me down.
The owner of Wefings (Marc Grove) got on the phone to Magic Tilt. A trouble Shooter from Magic Tilt would be there on Tuesday Morning. By Tuesday afternoon, my trailer had been fully repaired and even though new wheels and fenders would not be available for a week and half, Marc had the Troubleshooter take the wheels and fenders from another trailer and my trailer was as good as new. I didn't even loose any fishing time since is was raining pretty good on Monday and the wind was blowing pretty good on Tuesday.
Now I have heard Magic Tilt called Tragic Tilt etc. IMHO Magic Tilt builds a pretty good trailer. If you have a problem and you cannot get it fixed, the problem is not with Magic Tilt, it is with your dealer. If your dealer gets on Magic Tilt, Magic Tilt will respond. If you are having problems with your dealer, may I suggest Wefings Marine in Eastpoint, FL. (Just East of Apalachicola.) Oh, I am very happy with my Magic Tilt. I have not know Mike long, but I have dealt with Marc for a while. How many can say that their Dealer is also a friend?
